Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work

by Jodi-Ann Burey

From the creator of a viral TED talk comes a bold call to rethink authenticity at work

Workplace dynamics in recent years have been a dizzying storm of broken promises. Companies that once encouraged employees to “come as you are” and bring your full, authentic self to work are now shutting down initiatives, part of an ongoing cycle of trading on our identities when it’s convenient and profitable. Those calls for authenticity were never honest and are actually harmful.

Jodi-Ann Burey, writer and critic known for her TED talk “The Myth of Bringing Your Full, Authentic Self to Work,” delves into the dangers of disclosure in environments that aren’t built for our well-being. With insights from pop culture, academic research, and interviews with other professionals of color, Burey argues that we can do better than shallow ploys for representation.

Our physical and emotional health are at risk, and too much is sacrificed—for ourselves and for collective progress—when our full potential is blocked by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. Authentic is a powerful reckoning—and now is the time to reclaim our agency. Even at work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Leadership

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you heard of the concept of “bringing your whole self to work?” It’s the idea that employees can and should be open about the struggles they face, as well as their physical and mental health, in the workplace. The author of this book flips the concept, arguing that people being uncomfortable with self-disclosure at work is not the problem—the problem is that workplaces don’t meaningfully address the issues faced by BIPOC, disabled, and other minority employees. It’s all well and good to tell employees who use wheelchairs that you celebrate their differences, but does that actually help if your building isn’t accessible and your team-building activities are all hiking trips?

The author draws upon her experiences as a Black woman, person with disabilities, and a cancer survivor, working in a variety of fields. She also interviews others about their experiences.

While I enjoyed this book, it was different than I thought it would be. I was kind of hoping for a book about how you shouldn’t be expected to “bring your whole self to work” because work doesn’t need to be a core part of your life or identity. Some of the happiest people I know are “clock in, clock out” types, while the ideal supportive workplace portrayed in this book seems to be one that takes an active interest in employee wellbeing beyond providing safe and non discriminatory working conditions.

Still, I think this book has a really positive message and I think people who’ve been burned by discrimination at work will find it relatable and empowering.

[Frantz M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reckoning, recentering, and reflection on every page.

I had the honor to get an early read of Jodi-Ann Burey's "Authentic," knowing full well after seeing her Ted Talk that I expected a brilliant, critical take on workplace culture—and what I got was...exactly that. But what I didn’t expect was how deeply seen I would feel. I recognized myself in the text; I could hear my sisters' voices; I could sense the anxieties that my friends and I often discussed, laid out through each chapter, right there in front of me! This isn’t just a book about work; it’s a book about survival, identity, and the quiet negotiations so many of us make every single day just to be “allowed” in the room.

Jodi-Ann Burey writes with clarity, humor, and urgency. She doesn’t sugarcoat the contradictions baked into the modern push for “authenticity.” So many other reads toute "bringing your full self to work" or being authentic tend to fail in pulling in the hard truths. Burey's book doesn't hold back and AUTHENTICALLY talks about authenticism—flaws and all. The interviews and her own personal stories are woven in masterfully and really let's us explore environments where traditional power structures still dominate. But what it does so earnestly is whisper that "there's another way." Where else can you go from weathering to hospital rooms, to startups, to Insecure? I found myself underlining whole paragraphs and whispering “yes” aloud more times than I care to admit.

What hit me hardest were the parts where she names the cost of being "authentic" in spaces that are not built for you—how it can become a performance, a trap, or even a threat to your health and career. It made me reevaluate moments in my own professional life when I thought I was failing, but was really just trying to survive in systems that were never designed for me.

Burey blends memoir and analysis seamlessly—her stories about “the Store,” “the Startup,” and “the Org” made me laugh, cringe, and rage all at once. She’s not just critiquing capitalism or HR slogans—she’s calling for a total reimagining of what authenticity should mean and who gets to be safe while living it.

This book doesn’t hand out neat solutions (I know y'all would have loved a checklist of do's and don'ts), but it does offer language and validation. It reminded me that I’m not alone, and more importantly, it gave me permission to stop contorting myself in the name of someone else’s version of “belonging.”

If you’ve ever been told to “just be yourself” at work and felt your stomach twist in response, Authentic is for you. It’s liberating, challenging, and, in the best way possible...deeply personal.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the title of the prologue, (see slide 2), I knew this book was going to get me together. Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work is an essential read for women of color. It is disability justice forward manifesto about preserving yourself in the workplace, my copy is tabbed front to back with moments I want to return to and quotes I want to share with friends and colleagues.

While my community is education and Burey writes from the corporate world, she reminds us that we all “pay the collective cost of social, cultural, economic, and political marginalization with our bodies” (37).

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was more about general workplace situations, but appeared to be more her story and talk about racism and discrimination

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I do not know anything about the author, I was very interested in the premise of the book. I've read both arguments: that you should not be afraid to bring your "authentic" self to work in order to do your best and on the flip side, you should absolutely not do that for risk to your career, etc. This can be especially for true for anyone who is not part of the majority group (and even then it still applies!) so I was very interested in understanding what the author had to say.

This is a memoir of Burey, intertwining both her professional and personal lives, including her health and medical conditions, etc. Unfortunately they're enough to interfere with her professional life and she relates moments of being authentic can also be detrimental in that you are expected to have this side of you at work all the time: leaving you vulnerable, exhausted, etc.

This book is not what I thought it was. I had assumed from the promotions and marketing (haven't seen the TED Talk), that this was more of a "how to survive"/self-help type of book rather than a memoir. I appreciate and respect the author bringing and sharing her experiences, but this was also a little difficult to get into since much of it does not apply to me/I could not relate.

This is probably a case of "I should have just watched the TED Talk". But if you've ever experience similar to Burey, enjoyed the talk, want to read this instead of listening/watching a video, this might be for you. As I have never watched her talk I also could not say how well it translates to the book or if there's repetition between the two mediums, either.

Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute 5 star read for me! As a therapist, I work with so many people who are overworked, under-supported, and struggling to get the accommodations they need to simply do their jobs without sacrificing their health. Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work spoke directly to that reality. Jodi-Ann Burey, drawing on her experience as a Black woman in DEI and her collaborations with employee resource groups, calls out the hard truth: it’s not always safe—or even possible—to be your “authentic self” at work. She asks the questions so many of my clients (and I) wrestle with: Do we really have personal agency in these systems? Is liberation even possible in a workplace built on capitalism and bias? Through her own story of navigating a severe spinal cord injury and the voices of others across industries, she shows how our bodies, minds, and dignity are always on the line. This book is both a reality check and a resource reminding us to protect our energy, set boundaries. I love how after reading the book the point is driven home that self-preservation IS the most authentic thing we can do.

[Dorothy Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was born in Jamaica and raised in New York City. Calling bullshit was my birthright."

With Authentic, Jodi-Ann Burey has produced a truly singular and contributory work. Burey has a skillful capacity to interweave public health research, personal experience and humor so harmoniously that the text almost glimmers as you read it. I very much appreciated the intimacy and sensitivity with which Burey makes searing calls to action for both self protection and emphatic revolt against deeply entrenched systems of institutional violence.

I had the good sense to read the physical book while also listening to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author. The experience was deeply atmospheric, and Jodi-Ann Burey's humor and vulnerability truly shine when transmitted in her own voice. Authentic is brilliantly written, absolutely on time and indisputably relevant for us all. A stubborn, gobsmacking, exceedingly tender take on the topic of workplace realness (a balm, a scam, an impossibility in our current context), I received Burey's message like a benediction. This book is essential reading. I would recommend it over and over again.

[Amy]

My shoulders are still tense from the cringing I did during some very honest moments in this book (due to how they held a mirror to my own regretful missteps). I found it to be a generous and thoughtful integration of personal experience, perspective and even sense of humor with systems of oppression. I think a lot about how responsibilities of individuals and systems are intertwined when it comes to fairness, equity, and justice, and I’ll have several of this author’s anecdotes in mind for a long time.

[Mary Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jodi-Ann delivers unwavering resolve and commitment to highlighting the issues and harms surrounding the call for of authenticity at work. The book blends a gripping personal narrative with sharp social analysis. Each part of the book provides a nuanced view and perspective on how institutional incentives are not aligned to create safe places for all but a few. I found myself resting and wrestling with her phrases. I cried, laughed, and raged as I read Jodi-Ann's precise and vulnerable prose.

[Sarah Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

To have been able to tackle such a nuanced topic as authenticity with such searing clarity is a Herculean feat not many could accomplish.

And to be honest, even if others tried, I doubt their attempt would hold a candle to what has been offered here.